Coronavirus outbreak latest: April 2, 2020

Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:

(Tokyo)

As of 8:30 a.m., Thursday, April 2 (Japan time)

• This summer’s Wimbledon championships will not go ahead “due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic,” organizers said Wednesday, marking the first postwar cancellation of the iconic grand slam.

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As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, April 1 (Japan time)

• A Japanese government panel of experts on Wednesday warned of a health care system collapse if a sharp increase in coronavirus infections seen recently in urban areas continues, stressing the need for people in areas seeing an accelerating spread to keep outings to a minimum.
• Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday the government will distribute cloth face masks to roughly 50 million households in Japan as stocks of disposable masks have run out at drugstores and other shops amid the coronavirus outbreak.
• Japan said Wednesday it will deny entry to foreign nationals travelling from a total of 73 countries and regions, or about a third of the world, expanding its ban to include the Americas and Africa to address the continued rise in global coronavirus infections.
• China on Wednesday began publishing a daily coronavirus update with asymptomatic cases, in response to growing public concern that “silent” carriers may cause another outbreak as more people return to work after lockdowns are relaxed.
• The government has established a team within the secretariat of the National Security Council tasked with crafting Japan’s strategic response to the coronavirus crisis while improving its competitiveness in the technology and economic spheres.
• The government plans to unveil detailed guidelines on the reopening of schools after monitoring the spread of coronavirus infections and taking expert advice, according to its top spokesman
• The coronavirus pandemic could kill at least 100,000 people in the United States even when mitigation measures are fully in place, the government said.
• Subaru Corp. will halt all global auto production for approximately three weeks due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, resulting in a loss in output of 70,000 units.
• The death toll from the new coronavirus surpassed 41,000 while the total number of confirmed infections topped 850,000 on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University of the United States.